Bettina Pauly

San Francisco, California

It Doesn’t Matter

Davey board, self-cut rubber-stamp images, Thai mulberry paper, typewriter, collage, pochoir

5½ x12½ x ¾ (open)

6 x 13 x 1¼ (box)

© 2013

edtion size: unique

$ 925

The book is based on the following motivational quote: “Every day in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.” I learned about this quote for the first time about six years ago. Back then my boss had it framed in his office as his favorite saying. I absolutely could not relate to it. Why would people think it is motivational to wake up in the morning and fear for ones life? I am certainly glad that I don’t need this kind of motivation to get up in the morning.... In this book I altered the quote by erasing words and in doing so created new short lines that are written on the book’s blades of grass.

Ideation Cards:

technique: low-tech (typewriter, rubber stamps, stencils, hand lettering, transfers)

layout: asymmetrical

paper: minimal paper (emphasis on alternative material)

text: process of erasure

image: self-generated

color: primary

structure: accordion

adjectives: humorous, sculptural, surreal, fragmented or mosaic

wild card: incorporate self-reflexivity or evidence of process into your project

Bettina Pauly was trained as a professional chef, then worked as a head server throughout Europe. After coming to the U.S. and working in hospitality here, she went back to school and studied at the Academy of Art University SF in the Fine Arts program. Bettina is living in SF as a book artist, works as a letterpress printer and teaches workshops. She loves books and boxes both as physical objects and as containers of meaning. She is interested in a variety of folded, sewn and woven structures.